Venice Biennale
Parking Sections: Venice Biennale
Venice, Italy
Exhibition 2004 (September 12 – November 7)
Venice Architecture Biennale, American Pavilion
The logic for the installation of Parking Sections in the courtyard of the American Pavilion derives from the given conditions of the space. The four columns of the pavilion are extruded into the courtyard, creating the necessary display surface area while altering the neo-classical space. The entasis inherent in the columns is carefully kept within the shape of the extruded display boards. Twenty-foot long cantilevered aluminum frames were extended from each column, wrapped in vinyl printed with the project images. The right side of each armature displays a project exploring the potential of parking in section, while the left side depicts a photographic analysis of the problems and pleasures of parking in plan. On the outer panel, 2,378 air fresheners, donated by the Car-Freshner Corporation, were aggregated into a mosaic depicting a section through a full-scale 1972 red Volkswagen Beetle. The car was imaged at the resolution of an air freshener pixel. With these extensions the Doric columns are split in half, their geometry elaborated, and their iconic presence hidden. The colonnade was thus transformed into corridors for both viewing and for accessing the building.
Type
Credits
Commissioned by: Architectural Record for the U.S. Pavilion, Venice Biennale 2004
Curators: Robert Ivy, Clifford Pearson, Suzanne Stephens
Project team: Paul Lewis, Marc Tsurumaki, David J. Lewis, Alex Terzich, Israel Kandarian, Alan Smart, Michael Tyre, Hye-Young Chung, Hilary Zaic, Maya Galbis, James Bennett
Support provided by: Autodesk Inc., Car-Freshner Corporation, Tavola S.P.A., and Wunder-Baum AG
Photography: Elliott Kaufman